I have a ds-8. The keyboard feels great, the bigger than average display is nice, the sliders are a nice touch, and the effects are not all that cheesy. I've also found lots of user patches online, so there's a lot to get started with if you wanna get a feel for what it can do. programming is not that hard. I think there's an editor for it, but i never used it. I might check it out though now that I think about it :p I haven't spent more than a few hours on a dx-7; so, I wont compare.

dinotread wrote:I have a ds-8. The keyboard feels great, the bigger than average display is nice, the sliders are a nice touch, and the effects are not all that cheesy. I've also found lots of user patches online, so there's a lot to get started with if you wanna get a feel for what it can do. programming is not that hard. I think there's an editor for it, but i never used it. I might check it out though now that I think about it :p I haven't spent more than a few hours on a dx-7; so, I wont compare.

yeah, i've spent little time with a DX-7 as well (about 3 hours in a local guitar center), but from what i think, the DS-8 has a better synth engine.

There was an identical thread a few months ago on these in the buyer's guide... I think you have to approach them differently... If you just want to skim the FM surface, and get some cool (read: dirty) sounds along the way, then the ds8 is great.If you really want to program and get much more complicated tones, then clearly the dx7 wins.